Meteorological Register, kept at the Surveyor General's Office, Calcutta, for the month of June, 1838. ,602 91,8 95,5 89,5 S. ,572 92,5 97,0 89,1 S. .556 93,0 96,289,5 8. ,556 89,7 89,0|84,5| 8. 13 ,570 86,0 84,0 82,3 S. E.,642 89,0 90,8 87,0 9. ,620 91,0 95,8 87,9 s. w.,560 92,8 100,0 89,4 8. ,540 93,0 99,5 90,3 ,600 90,1 8. 65,0 90,0 S. ,588 93,7 99,0 92,0 S. ,496 86,5 78,2 78,0 s. w.,520 86,5 80,0 78,5 N. Cm. ,592 82,9 ,590 83,2 8. ,618 84,3 91,4 86,2 s. E.,614 89,7 93,2 87,2 8. ,530 86,7 83,7 85,2 ,520 85,3 86,384,4 s. E. ,570 85,9 84,5 83,9 E. ,517 87,0 88,084,7 E. ,490 87,4 87,085,0 E. ,522 87,5 92,0 86,8 E. ,478 87,8 95,3 87,0 E. ,458 87,5 89,087,0 ,548 83,5 80,580,0 E. ,489 84,3 83,0 80,5 E. ,470 84,0 82,8 80,5 s. 81,0 80,8 E. ,544 82,9 80,280,2 E. ,530 82,9 80,180,2 81,8 81,1 S. ,522 82,1 81,381,0 8. ,510 82,8 83,081,8 83,1 82,2 sbs. w.,550 81,7 81,080,7 S. E.,504 81,9 81,2 20,8 85,0 84,0 ,553 84,6 85,5 84,0 82,781,5 8. 84,082,2 E. 88,5 83,5 ,544 89,9 90,8 85,9 8. Cm. ,570 64,3 85,483,3 Cm.,02 Cm, 690 84,0 3,962,9 Cm THE CALCUTTA CHRISTIAN OBSERVER. No. 76.-September, 1838. 1.-Encouragment to Labour; the substance of an address delivered at the Circular Road Chapel, on Monday evening, August 6, 1838. By Rev. Chas. Piffard, Missionary of the London Missionary Society. Published by request. "And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."-Gul. vi. 9. We are naturally disinclined to persevere in that which is good, and to meet with so much opposition, therefore the exhortation of our text is, at all times, deserving attention. Even in the days of the Apostles the advice was not unnecessary. The servants of God were then indeed animated to persevere by the remarkable success which they obtained: they had reason to thank God, who always caused them to triumph in Christ, and made manifest by them the savour of his knowledge in every place. But they were also exposed to severe persecutions, and their faith and patience were tried to the uttermost. Besides this, they had to grieve bitterly on account of the evil conduct and apostacy of many Christians. Thus the apostle Paul writing to Timothy says "all they which are in Asia be turned away from me." In many of his epistles, he also informs us that he was much distressed by false teachers who having crept in amongst his people were perverting the faith. We also, my Christian friends, require to attend to this admonition, for though we are not exposed to persecutions such as the primitive Christians were subjected to, yet we have greater difficulties to encounter and less success to cheer and animate our hearts. Is there not in fact reason to fear, that some amongst us have taken such a gloomy view of the state of things, as to be greatly discouraged and almost ready to give up the work in despair. Some, though I trust they are but few, seem to think that the time for converting the heathen is past; that we have now to VII. 3 R preach the gospel, not as a witness of God's amazing love to sinners, but, strange to say, merely as a witness against them, and that we are not to expect any success till the Saviour appears personally on earth. It would be useless to request such persons to attend to the words of our text. We cannot but pity those who believe that we have to preach the gospel not to save men, but to seal their perdition. Others not obtaining that success which they had expected, think that the time for converting the heathen is not yet come. They do not give up the work which God has commanded to be done, but they do it with little zeal and alacrity. Indeed, who can feel pleasure, or engage in his work with spirit, whilst he is under the impression that it will be of no avail? But do the scriptures warrant us to entertain such an opinion? Do they not rather teach us that God waiteth to be gracious, that He is ever ready to bless the labours of his faithful servants? But there are many I fear, and to such I would especially address myself, who, though they do not hold such gloomy views, are yet discouraged at the present state of things. They suppose that, either through their unfitness for the work, the unsuitableness of the means employed, the awful depravity of the heathen, or through the want of piety and union amongst Christians, God is withholding his blessing,-in fact that they are labouring in an unpromising sphere. That want of success may justly be attributed to the reasons above mentioned I do not deny, and it becomes every true Christian therefore to examine himself that he may know his errors and give up that which checks the progress of the gospel. But to engage in the work with desponding feelings is not merely painful, but injurious. It checks our zeal and deadens our exertions. That we may therefore be led to prosecute our labours of love with perseverance, I will endeavour this evening to bring to your notice some of those motives which the word of God and his providence present to us, which are calculated to induce us "not to be weary in well doing, knowing that in due time we shall reap if we faint not." I would observe, First, that the promises which are contained in the word of God warrant us to hope that we shall reap if we faint not. Our text is a confirmation of this, it does not indeed say that we shall immediately succeed, or even that we shall see in this world the fruit of our labours, but that we shall reap in due season, that our labours will not be useless. The same apostle writing to the Corinthians says: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord." When our Saviour commanded his dis 66 ciples to preach the gospel to every creature, he promised for their and our encouragement that "He would be with them even to the end of the world." In the 55th of Isaiah wherein we have such gracious promises, we find the following words: v. 10. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." The promises made to our Saviour respecting the extension of the gospel are still more encouraging: thus in Psalm ii. 8 it is written "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession;" again in Psalm xxii. 27," All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee." Many other passages of a similar nature might be mentioned, which evidently shew that the work in which we are engaged must succeed. Having then such promises shall we be weary in well doing? But some may be ready to say we do not see them fulfilled? God seems at least in this country to hide his face from us. Are we, my brethren, to distrust God's promises, because they are not immediately fulfilled? Are we to walk only by sight and not by faith? The scriptures do not teach us to act so. And I would also ask, Is our condition in this land so peculiar that we should not rely on them? In former days, have not God's most eminent servants had to labour even under greater discouragements? And as they at last obtained in a striking manner the blessing of the Almighty so may we not expect it likewise? The history of Joseph is a signal illustration of this. For many years his trials and sufferings were of such a nature as to lead one to suppose that his dreams would never be realised, but at last we find that his trials were steps necessary to produce their fulfilment. Our Saviour who spake as never man spake, and who performed such wonderful miracles as were never witnessed before, yet had so little apparent success, and died in such a manner, that one might have supposed that his mission had been a failure. But we know that the contrary was the case. His sufferings and death, were the means of accomplishing the salvation of the world. The instructions which he imparted, during his ministry, were the foundations on which all future instructions were built, and as for success, the thousands which were converted by an address of Peter, evidently shew that his labours had not been fruitless; in fact, his disciples reaped the seed which He had sown. We are now, like our Saviour, scattering far and wide the seeds of the kingdom. We may, like him, not see it spring up during our earthly career; but others after our death will reap the seed we have sown. But shall we be discouraged on this account? shall we not rather consider it an honor to be forerunners in proclaiming the gospel? Now we have appointed to us the arduous but glorious task, of tilling the ground and sowing the seed, we have to labour in faith and in tears, not beholding any fruit. Hereafter as the seed springs up the work will become more easy and pleasant. But the primitive founders of churches will be remembered with gratitude; and in the world of spirits they shall rejoice in beholding the triumphs of the gospel where they at first planted the standard of the Cross. May we not hope, for our encouragement, that the progress of the gospel will be similar to what we see in the works of providence. We have to till the ground, to remove the weeds that cover it, and to sow the seed, and we have even then to wait for a long time, ere the fruits of our labours are visible. But when we see a few shoots springing up, or a few leaves appearing, then we know that the whole field will soon be covered with verdure. And now that real converts have been obtained, may we not expect much larger accessions to the church of Christ? Though we may appear to a careless observer to be doing nothing, and our plans may appear to fail, shall we be discouraged and indulge vain fears? Shall we not rather indulge the hope that, even now, many are shaken in their minds, that their faith in their superstitions is wavering, that they are in some manner sensible of the truth and excellency of the gospel, that they are beginning to feel the danger of their situation as sinners before God, and that some are desirous of embracing the gospel but are deterred from making an open profession merely through the fear of persecution and of losing caste? May we not suppose that the mere fact of our perseverance in seeking to do them good, contrasted with the selfishness and apathy of their priests, is now making a deep impression on their minds. These are not mere suppositions. We may affirm, without boasting, that such effects will be and are produced by the word of God. We have the promise of Him who cannot lie that, though his kingdom cometh not by observation, yet, it will silently and gradually make its way till at last its influence will be felt over the whole world. When miners are undermining the fortifications of a city, their labours are not perceptible to a careless observer. But when their operations have reached the foot of the founda- · tions then, suddenly, by the downfall of the ramparts, the effi |